An Inapt, and Dangerous, Analogy
Letty Cottin Pogrebin is entitled to her criticism of Israel and her horror at the conditions in Hebron (“The ‘A-Word’ in Hebron,” April 1).
She is not entitled, however, to historically inaccurate analogies that severely damage the reputation of the state both of us love. Apartheid was a legal form of racial segregation enacted by the South African legislature in the late 1940s and early 1950s. The antecedent of apartheid was the colonization of southern Africa by whites.
The antecedents of Israel’s stance toward the West Bank are far different: Israel took control of the West Bank in the aftermath of a defensive war that stemmed from Israel’s neighbors’ threats against its very existence. Unlike South African blacks’ relationship to the apartheid regime, the Palestinians have a relatively easy way to resolve their differences with Israel: Accept Israel’s longstanding invitation to negotiate a peace agreement.
This is more than semantics. The apartheid canard is part of the larger effort to delegitimize Israel by essentially making Israel a pariah state. When Jews such as Naomi Klein and now Pogrebin jump on the bandwagon, anti-Semites around the world cheer.
RABBI JOSHUA M. AARONSON
Park City, Utah
Thank you, Letty Cottin Pogrebin, for shining some light into the benighted enclave of fanaticism and chauvinism that is the Jewish settlement in Hebron.
I would encourage many more Israelis and American visitors to go to Hebron and see for themselves the swaggering contempt and the humiliation heaped by the settlers upon innocent Palestinians who are seeking simply to live their lives unmolested in their own homes. I believe most would be equally revolted and ashamed and would hopefully demand that this unconscionable behavior be reined in.
GIL KULICK
New York, N.Y.
This is a moment of great uncertainty. Here’s what you can do about it.
We hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, we’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s independent Jewish news this Passover. All donations are being matched by the Forward Board - up to $100,000.
This is a moment of great uncertainty for the news media, for the Jewish people, and for our sacred democracy. It is a time of confusion and declining trust in public institutions. An era in which we need humans to report facts, conduct investigations that hold power to account, tell stories that matter and share honest discourse on all that divides us.
With no paywall or subscriptions, the Forward is entirely supported by readers like you. Every dollar you give this Passover is invested in the future of the Forward — and telling the American Jewish story fully and fairly.
The Forward doesn’t rely on funding from institutions like governments or your local Jewish federation. There are thousands of readers like you who give us $18 or $36 or $100 each month or year.
Support our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.
